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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. march — the month
  5. race — a contest
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chip — to eat
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. race — humankind
  20. pitch — completely
  21. fork — in a road
  22. chip — for betting
  23. race — the arms race
  24. march — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com